Happy new week everyone. I’ve been working hard on my latest manuscript and it’s coming along nicely. I’m about to write about my main male character in the story, but suddenly another minor male character has stepped up and appeared far sooner that I’d originally imagined. He obviously wants to be a bigger part in the story! I love it when this happens and it makes writing the new book so much fun.

I often support other authors on my blog, but it’s now booked up until the middle of the year, so I thought I’d open up some marketing posts to top tips from authors who can share their experience with you and possibly give you some insight into their own writing journey. The first tips are from Awen Thornber, who is a mystery and romance author.

Awen’s top marketing tips:

1. If your book is much more than just a romance, don’t have ‘A Romance’ under the title on the cover. It gives the impression that it’s just a romance. Sometimes the publisher might add this – but being a novice you might find it difficult to object. Try and raise objections early if you are unhappy with something and be willing to listen to your publishers reasoning.

2. Give the back blurb a lot of thought. Don’t rush this stage. Don’t have something on the back that isn’t relevant to your readers or the story as this might cause confusion, even if you think it will put your book in better categories. Research what will work for your genre and see what other authors are doing to be more visible with keywords. My book has the words ‘let’s dance’ on the back as this fits with the story, but on reflection, this may deter readers who aren’t interested in dance and narrows my marketplace.

3. The ‘Foxtrot’ in my book’s title is a nod towards the police/crime/intrigue part of the novel but I think it was too subtle taking the top two points into consideration. So my top tip would be to seriously think and look at the cover and title and how it appears to would be readers. Get several opinions before settling for the final wording. You only have a matter of seconds to attract a reader to your book out of a page of similar books for sale on Amazon. The cover is the all important sales and marketing tool. It’s the make or break for your book being chosen out of a larger selection.

Some reviewers have commented that despite not liking dance they were surprised to find they enjoyed the book because it was much more than dance. Other reviewers who don’t usually read romance enjoyed the suspense with the crime aspect. Your title, cover and blurb needs to reel in a wider and diverse readership. The wrong choice of words narrows it right down to a few. I realised very quickly when it was too late that my cover obviously targeted a reader who solely liked dance and romance.

This has made it harder to market.

I hope this helps you all! From Awen. 

Book buy links for Awen’s books:

Foxtrot in Freshby

Threads of Awen

 

 

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